Elemental Trends
by lunarshores
Summary: When Robin come across a depressed Franky, she instantly agrees to help him. Will she learn more than either of them are expecting? Frobin, written for day 13 of Share the Love Month


**This was written for Day 13 of Share the Love Month on tumblr. Thanks again to aerle and myladyday for such a challenging and fun event. Make sure you check out the other stories, since they are all amazing ^^I took sort of a different take on the theme of elements than most people so far...**

"Are you in need of some assistance, Franky?"

Robin had walked up to her office door to find the blue-haired man sitting in the corner of the hallway on the floor muttering to himself. This occurrence was not altogether uncommon, since the man was a brilliant engineer and was frequently to be found in odd places talking quietly to himself, but this time seemed different. He lacked his usual air of intense focus and appeared almost despondent.

Their offices had been next to each other's for almost a year now, so they'd had time to get used to each other's varied eccentricities, especially as these were the only two offices still occupied in this building. It was the oldest building on campus and as such the offices were cramped compared to the new buildings and far away from almost everything.

Robin had chosen to stay here when offered the chance to move, since she loved the air of history that permeated the century-and-a-half old building. Sometimes, she could almost believe a vengeful spirit would appear in front of her, seeking retribution for its brutal demise. The atmosphere was really just delightful.

Franky had just joined the staff in the fall, and the engineering school was currently expanding, so there was no room for him anywhere near his classes. He'd told Robin he didn't mind, though, and would probably stay even if he had the opportunity to move, since he shared her appreciation for old architecture.

Life was much easier in this deserted part of campus now that he had joined her in the semi-isolation of the university's original building. Maintenance mostly ignored any requests for problems with the ancient furnace or the faulty wiring, but Franky was a genius at fixing everything. He'd told her that he thought better when he had something to do with his hands, so he was forever restoring or fixing some part of "their" wing.

Robin had been in the library all afternoon, so she didn't know how long the other professor had been sitting there in the hall, but judging by the empty six pack of cola, it had been quite some time.

"Franky?" She tried once again to get the other's attention, this time succeeding rather dramatically. The preoccupied man jumped, obviously startled, and scattered the empty cans, the clanging sound echoing down the wide, barren halls.

"Oh, Robin! Welcome back! Was your trip to the library SUPER?" Franky tried to imitate his usual jovial tone, but fell far short.

"Yes, it was very productive. But back to the topic at hand. Are you quite alright?"

He sighed and stood up, automatically taking the large stack of papers from Robin's arms, so that she could open her door. She smiled at him in thanks and slid the key into the lock. Once inside her closet of an office, she started the kettle for coffee and grabbed a cola from her tiny fridge as a matter of course. Franky slumped into what she now thought of as his chair, in front of her desk. It was a highly infrequent occurrence for students to make the trek out here to ask questions, so he was really the only one who ever sat in it. Neither she nor Franky had many visits during their office hours.

"So..." Robin set down the soda in front of the slouching man, and poured the hot water into the French press on her desk. She settled herself in her worn out desk chair.

Franky frowned and fidgeted in his seat, not touching the cola."Well, the introductory chemistry professor won't be available next semester, so they want me to teach it."

"Oh, I do hope she hasn't fallen down the stairs and broken her neck or thrown herself off a bridge." Robin smiled gently.

"You are a SUPER frightening woman sometimes." Franky laughed and finally straightened. "No, she's on maternity leave."

"So, you're upset because you don't want to teach an introductory class?" Robin frowned. She poured her perfectly brewed coffee into her favorite cup without spilling a drop. Like her, Franky rarely taught anything but advanced courses.

"No, it's just..." Suddenly, the man burst into tears. "All of those young minds to mold! The opportunity persuade so many into switching to science or engineering... It's just... I just..." His words were almost incomprehensible through his caterwauling. "I could change the world, but I don't know if my SUPER style of teaching will relate well enough to the students..." He trailed off, bawling into the handkerchief he seemingly pulled out from nowhere.

Robin was well used to such dramatic behavior by now and completely ignored his tears, sipping her coffee with her usual calm expression. She glared ominously at the sobbing man.

"You're planning to subvert my students?" The sound of her cup clinking decisively against the saucer sounded ominously around the room.

"Of course not yours! They'd never leave after they'd had you as a professor anyway." Franky ceased his caterwauling and backpedaled quickly. He'd learned over the course of the year how scary she could be.

"Good." Robin was all smiles again, which somehow made Franky even more wary. "In that case, as my focus is not in science or engineering, how about I preview a lecture and give suggestions as to how to draw more interest?"

Franky's eyes lit up at her suggestion. "That'd be SUPER, Robin!" He grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her out of the office to a nearby classroom. Robin reflected that is was good that she'd already finished with her work for the day, since apparently the pre-lecture was to be held immediately. Still the engineer's obvious excitement made her smile. She always admired how open he was with his emotions.

Once they'd entered the classroom, Franky realized that he still had hold of her hand and blushed.

"Sorry, about that." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, further mussing his already disheveled hair.

"Don't let it concern you." Robin smiled politely and took a seat in the front of the classroom. "What will we cover today, professor?"

"Hmmm..." Franky reached the board and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Periodic trends are today's SUPER topic!" He held his signature pose. Robin pulled out a notebook and pencil and began noting the things that might be off-putting to potential future scientists. Or really anyone.

"Oi! What are you writing? We haven't even started yet, and you already have complaints?"

"Don't mind me. Please continue."

Franky sighed and turned to the board. "Cut back on the theatrics, got it." He glanced at the periodic table on the wall, then smirked to himself and began writing. Robin was instantly suspicious. That smirk was never innocent.

"The best way to learn periodic trends is to discuss examples, so we'll begin with these eight elements. We will get into the explanation for these behaviors later. For now, just know that the trends come about primarily because of how the electrons are dispersed."

He wrote the full names of the elements which struck her as odd. She hadn't studied chemistry in years, but most professors generally used the symbols whenever possible. She noted it down to discuss the possible benefits in garnering student attention.

"For electronegativity, the easiest way to remember it is the closer you are to fluorine the more electronegative it is. Now, let's take the first two. **Fr**ancium is less electronegative than **n**itrogen. Now, the next one is a little more complicated because potassium(**K**) and **y**ttirum..."

Robin frowned. That was an odd example to give to new students. Something about his choices nagged at her, but she couldn't quite see the pattern yet. She realized that she was zoning out and dragged her mind back to the lecture.

"For atomic radius the trend is opposite, though it is complicated by electron shielding, so you can only be sure if they are in either the same period or group. It gets a bit dicey on the diagonal. So you'd expect **l**i**v**ermorium to be larger than **s**ulfur."

Franky grinned at her and Robin smiled warmly in return. Livermorium was her favorite element, ever since it had been named a few years ago. It was a shame the name's origin was nowhere as gruesome as it sounded. She wondered if she had told Franky, or if he had just guessed from the name.

"Similarly, **r**u**b**idium is larger than **in**dium. Now these trends come about because-" Suddenly, the pattern that had been hovering just out of her grasp fell into place. Robin blinked in shock.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between the board and the periodic table on the wall, checking her hunch. It was just as she'd suspected. Ah, so that was the reason for the smirk and the reason he wrote out the elements' full names. At least he gave her some credit, though clearly not enough.

Robin decided to wait to prove her theory until the end of the lecture. She did promise to help him make introductory chemistry more interesting. It was much easier to focus on what he said now that the nagging feeling of missing something was gone.

Franky was an excellent lecturer, dramatic poses notwithstanding. His passion for the subject came through in his voice and explanations, making it one of the more interesting chemistry lectures she'd sat through. Still, by the end, she had a few suggestions.

"So, what'd you think?" Franky took his signature pose once again. "Was it too SUPER for you?"

"Well, I do have a couple of recommendations." Robin stood up and made her way to the board, ignoring his protests as she grabbed Franky's marker. "Perhaps it would do better to have fewer examples. You wouldn't want your message to get lost because there was too much on the board." Franky froze at the word message, and she had to work to keep her usual bland face. "Something simpler, perhaps." She erased the board and wrote **I**, **Lu**, **V**, and **U **in place of his examples.

Franky's eyes widened, and he looked back and forth between her and the board, trying to figure out if she'd done it on purpose. Robin didn't let her pleasant smile slip the slightest as she watched him sweat.

"That... doesn't have any examples suitable for atomic radius." Robin was impressed at how even his tone was apart from the hesitation in the beginning. He was still staring at her intently, glancing every so often at the blatant message on the board.

"That does seem to be a problem. I did like the examples you chose before, as well." Robin turned the erase the board once more, allowing her grin to grow only once she faced away from Franky.

"You-" Before he could ask, she turn back to him, polite smile once more firmly in place.

"Secondly, your appearance needs to be addressed." Her bald statement sidetracked him successfully.

"My appearance? What's wrong with my appearance?" He looked down at his outfit self consciously. "I'm even wearing the blasted tie!" Franky gestured to the tangled abomination around his neck.

Robin clucked her tongue disparagingly and moved closer to fix the so-called tie. It more resembled a noose than a tie, which was all well and good in her opinion, and it probably more accurately reflected Franky's feeling about it, but fixing it would suit her purposes nicely.

As she untangled and then re-tied the offending piece of cloth, she said, "You'll be more likely to win their respect if you seem competent enough to dress yourself." She stopped and scrutinized her work. "There's really no fixing this pattern, though, I'm afraid." Having done the best she could with what she had to work with, Robin adjusted the knot one final time, before pulling firmly on the tie to close the distance between them. Before Franky had a chance to react, she kissed him firmly on the mouth. He froze, shocked before relaxing and melting into the kiss. Robin allowed it to deepen briefly before pulling away abruptly.

Franky blinked down at her.

"Next time, you wish to be secretive about something, do remember that I spend most of my days decoding ancient texts in dead languages." Franky gaped at her. "It wasn't exactly subtle in comparison, and I have taken chemistry before."

Franky was once more looking back and forth between her and the now empty board, still at a loss for words.

"Now, here is my more professional critique of your lecture." Robin handed him a copy of her real notes. It took him a couple of tries to hold onto the paper tightly enough so that it didn't fall. Robin fought hard not to laugh.

"Now I have some things to file before I can leave. I assume dinner at my place is no problem?" Franky managed to nod weakly in response. "I'll see you in about half an hour then. We can leave together." With that she tugged on the tie she had yet to let go over, and bit his lower lip teasingly. Franky moaned, and she took full advantage of his now open mouth, playfully caressing his tongue with her own. He returned the kiss with equal fervor.

Robin ended the kiss without warning once again and walked back to her office without another word.

"Damn woman." She laughed softly at Franky's cross mutter as she glided out of the room.

**Thanks for reading! I apologize for the chemistry lecture, but it was kind of necessary ^^" Reviews are always appreciated.**


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